CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month, and Illinois officials urged residents to become organ donors on Tuesday.
South Side Ald. Michelle Harris (8th) joined others at the Gift of Hope office near 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.
“I know it sounds cold,” she said. “You can’t take it with you. Why not save another life?”
Harris continued: “If I drop dead today, my driver’s license says you can have everything in here that you think you need. The reason why: because I feel like I could pass on some of my healthy organs. If they’re healthy enough to allow somebody to have one more day on this earth, we should be doing this.”
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said it “just takes a moment” to sign up at lifegoeson.com.
“A single person’s donation can improve the lives of up to 25 people,” he said.
Giannoulias said Illinois does pretty well, with 71% of eligible residents registered as donors. But, he added, the state “can do better.”
Harris noted all the dialysis centers scattered around the south side.
“This is so vital in our community,” she said.
The CEO of Gift of Hope, Dr. Harry Wilkins, said there are 100,000 Americans awaiting transplants. Of those individuals, Wilkins said 60% are minorities.
In Illinois, 4,000 people are awaiting transplants.
Wilkins said 300 people will die waiting for a donation in 2023.
Among those in attendance for Tuesday’s ceremony: Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer, who received a double lung transplant earlier this year at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
“Now I can breathe,” Deer told reporters at a recent press conference. “Now I’ve got new lungs on the inside, and I’d be remiss if I did not say a huge thanks to the donor. Somebody thought well enough to be willing to donate their lungs or be an organ donor. That’s very, very important.”
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